http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957582012001188
Is biochar or straw-bale construction a better carbon storage from a life cycle perspective? Tuomas Mattila, , Juha Grönroos, Jachym Judl, Marja-Riitta Korhonen Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Mechelininkatu 34a, 00251 Helsinki, Finland http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2012.10.006, How to Cite or Link Using DOI Abstract Biochar has been presented as a key technology for avoiding dangerous climate change. Pyrolysis converts part of the biomass feedstock into a gaseous fraction, which can be used for energy production. The remaining fraction is char, which is highly stable and resistant to biodegradation. When char is added to soil it increases carbon storage, reduces emissions and improves soil quality. Agricultural residues such as straw, stover and hulls are seen as the most accessible raw material. These residues could also be used as insulation in passive energy housing. Straw bale construction is a relatively simple technology, which has been applied for decades. It can store the carbon of the straw material into walls structures and in the process provides energy efficient housing. The climate benefits from improved energy efficiency depend on local conditions and energy production forms. In this study life cycle assessment was used to compare the climate impacts of biochar production and straw bale construction. On a life cycle perspective, straw bale construction results in higher net carbon storage than biochar production (3.3 t CO2eq vs. 0.9 t CO2eq/t of straw). However the result was found to be highly dependent on the assumptions on the overall energy efficiency of the replaced building stock. Keywords Carbon storage; Straw; Pyrolysis; Natural building; Life cycle assessment -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
